Updates on life in Japan

2:1 Two years and one day

The titles of the entries will have a new look from now on. Instead of Day 733, to make things a little shorter, it will be 2:1 (2 years and one day since 3.11).

Next item of business, I will now happily eat my words. A reader mentioned I was chomping at the bit, expecting MSM to cover the protests on the evening they occurred. Right. And there was no coverage. However, Monday and yesterday, in the Chunichi Shinbun, and other web outlets, there was *some* reporting of the protests, a sample for your reading pleasure, below.

First, though, if you are lucky enough to be able to catch this in time, have a look at this film before it access is denied, please do:

The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom

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Truth to Power: Japanese Media, International Media and 3.11 Reportage

…The electric utilities in Japan are major TV sponsors. I found this out two years ago. They spent 70~88.8 billion yen on advertising that year, ahead of Panasonic with 70 billion yen and Toyota at 50 billion yen. When I started claiming that this amounted to bribery of the media by TEPCO, I was no longer asked to appear on radio shows.

…That’s right. Before the disaster, TBS had a history of inviting experts from the (anti-nuclear) citizens’ nuclear information center; the director of TBS had personal contact with them. But they also always invited pro-nuclear people from the so-called nuclear village, as balance. After the crisis, Fuji TV had a guy called Fujita Yuko, who has always been anti-nuclear, but only once. On the afternoon of March 11th he said there was the possibility of a meltdown. He was never allowed back on screen.